Defined Benefit Section

Membership of the DB Section means you are saving for your retirement. It also provides financial protection for you and your family should you die or become too ill to work, subject to Trustee approval.

You also have the opportunity to enhance your pension benefits by paying Additional Voluntary Contributions, which the Company will add to.

This site summarises the most important information about the DB Section and your benefits. You will find detailed information on your benefits and pensions in general in the Members’ Booklet, which you can print, read and share with your family.

Summary of benefits

Here’s a summary of the main features of the DB Section:

You contribute to your DB Section pension each month.

The Company pays the balance of the cost of providing your DB Section benefits.

You can choose to enhance your pension benefits by paying Additional Voluntary Contributions to the AVC Plan.

You receive tax relief on your Contributions.

You can pay your contributions via Salary Exchange, which means you also pay less National Insurance.

You take your benefits at your Normal Retirement Age.

You can also benefit from a Flexible Retirement Age, which means you can take your benefits any time after age 50 or defer payment of your pension until after your Normal Retirement Age.

When you retire, your benefits will be used to provide an annual pension. You can also choose to exchange up to 25% of the value of your benefits for a tax-free cash sum.

Your pension will benefit from increases each year to help keep pace with the cost of living

The DB Section also provides benefits for you if you become too ill to work (subject to Trustee approval) and for your dependants when you die.